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Neuropathological lesions and their contribution to dementia and cognitive impairment in a heterogeneous clinical population. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association Godrich, D., Martin, E. R., Schellenberg, G., Pericak-Vance, M. A., Cuccaro, M., Scott, W. K., Kukull, W., Montine, T., Beecham, G. W. 2022

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer disease (AD) and related dementias are characterized by damage caused by neuropathological lesions in the brain. These include AD lesions (plaques and tangles) and non-AD lesions such as vascular injury or Lewy bodies. We report here an assessment of lesion association to dementia in a large clinic-based population.METHODS: We identified 5272 individuals with neuropathological data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Individual lesions, as well as a neuropathological composite score (NPCS) were tested for association with dementia, and both functional and neurocognitive impairment using regression models.RESULTS: Most individuals exhibited mixed pathologies, especially AD lesions in combination with non-AD lesions. All lesion types were associated with one or more clinical outcomes; most even while controlling for AD pathology. The NPCS was also associated with clinical outcomes.DISCUSSION: These data suggest mixed-type pathologies are extremely common in a clinic-based population and may contribute to dementia and cognitive impairment.

View details for DOI 10.1002/alz.12516

View details for PubMedID 35142102